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Hello Stranger – “Smiling in the Night”

Hello Stranger is an eclectic power trio formed in Los Angeles, California in 2015. The band is vocalist and guitarist Sam Deffenbaugh, Sam Plotkin on bass, and drummer Daniel Rodriguez. After moving to LA to pursue a career in music, Deffenbaugh began looking for a band and met Daniel Rodriguez online. After a few jams they band cultivated a handful of original songs and with the addition of Sam Plotkin on bass, Hello Stranger was officially born. In January 2018 they released their debut record, “Long Division”, and the response was overwhelming receiving over 150k downloads and streams in the first week alone. The band is currently hard at work supporting “Long Division” and working on a follow up album. The performance video for the song “Smiling in the Night” was released in February of 2018.

“Smiling in the Night” begins with layers of emotional guitar picking and distant but thoughtful tones. The verse kicks in with a steady and playful drumbeat to back up the expressive melody. The vocals are strong and full of depth with a unique personality infused into the lyrics. They open up into an explosive chorus that blends vocal harmonies over a poppy hook, a sing along chorus that is joyful and poignant. As the song progresses, the band dips and dives into different sections blending styles and keeping the track compelling and innovative. They melodically find their way to a crunchy instrumental break that highlights how tight the trio is, and the giant sound they are capable of achieving between the three of them. The way they structure these sections gives the track very moving and dramatic moments, from loud and exciting to a dreamy A-cappella section that makes you feel like you’re floating in the air before dropping you back into the strong and heartfelt chorus. “Long Division” is full of dramatic and eclectic tracks like this and shows why Hello Stranger has quickly grown such a strong following. You can listen to “Smiling in the Night” on our Prime Cuts Playlist on Spotify and Youtube and follow Hello Stranger on the links below. Please continue to support artists like Hello Stranger and share this music with everyone you know.